A/N: Thank goodness, I finally got this out! This chapter seemed to take longer than usual for some reason. Eh, I no no why. Well, thanks for your patience everybody! Thanks to NinjaSheik and surxi25 for reviewing as well as to everybody else who has faved this story! And now, on with ze show!

Disclaimer: Do I have to? Really? Grreeaaat. Anywho, I do not own Kingdom Hearts, its plot, characters, and other whatnot. So take that!


'I'm getting soft,' Saix growled as he paced the length of his room. Why had he gone back? Why had he given her that pouch? Why had he even bothered to converse with her at all? He should have killed her for her impertinence, or at the very least, brought her to the Organization's castle. She had access to the very information they needed, but he never managed to get any answers out of her.

Suddenly, the sliding of doors could be heard as a presence entered his room. Light footsteps echoed across the room as Saix turned to face the intruder. "Superior," Saix murmured respectfully.

"… You have failed me again, haven't you Saix?" Xemnas questioned, cloak rustling as he walked came closer to his second-in-command.

"I am afraid so," he said in his monotone. "But I assure you, it shall not happen next time."

"Next time?" he repeated, amber eyes narrowing ever so slightly. "You have failed me in this regard twice, VII. What makes you think that I shall entrust you with this mission yet again?"

"With all due respect Superior, I was just beginning to make progress in the mission," Saix said, mind whirring. There was no way in hell if any of the other members were going to take his mission. If Xemnas no longer deemed him competent, then it was only a matter of time before he was turned into a Dusk.

"Oh? How so?" Xemnas questioned, raising a fine, silver eyebrow. "Please, enlighten me on your latest expedition."

"Superior, I implore you to give me but a little more time with the girl. I will not fail you again, but she requires more supervision than one would expect. I am fairly certain that she knows the location of the keyblade warrior we seek. Kingdom Hearts is within our grasp, Superior. All you need to do, is to allow me more time."

For a while, Xemnas simply looked at Saix with a bored expression, betraying neither thought nor emotion. Just when Saix thought his plea was in vain, Xemnas murmured, "I shall give you one more chance VII. One last chance." Walking briskly out of his second-in-command's room, the Superior suddenly turned his face back toward the blue-haired Nobody. "And," he said. "If you fail to complete your mission soon, I will proceed with my intentions as planned."

"Of course Superior," Saix said, bowing his head slightly. As Xemnas's steps eventually faded away, Saix gave a slight growl in irritation. 'Runa… you are going to pay for making me look like such a fool,' he thought angrily. 'Pay dearly indeed…'


"Thanks again you guys," Runa grimly murmured to Huey, Dewey, and Louie as she gathered her things. She had just finished purchasing her supplies with the munny that Saix had given her; however, Runa was now in one of her less-than-pleasant moods. Ever since Saix had left, innumerable questions had been flying through her mind.

Where was he from? Was he really as cruel as she had made him out to be? Why was he trying to kill her one moment, and helping her the next? Why did he want to know about her brother, aka one of the keyblade warriors?

The way she saw it, he enjoyed making her life a confusing hell. He was probably watching her right now to see how far she could go before she broke down. 'That definitely sounds like something that dumb bastard would do…' she thought darkly.

And yet another matter continued to puzzle her. He had attacked her multiple times, and she was sure that if he had actually wanted to, he could have captured her whenever he wished. So why hadn't he? And why did it appear that he was (dare she say it) trying to make amends?

Again, he was probably relishing the fact that he was making her life hell.


Storming through the castle, Saix growled a low, dangerous growl deep in his throat. If IX didn't watch it, he would probably end up with his beloved sitar strewn across the castle. Apparently Demyx had thought that it would be funny if he played a "practical joke" on the Berserker. The joke had involved a sudden tsunami to appear from around the corner, effectively drenching both the Berserker and Demyx. His excuses had always allowed him to get away from punishment previously, but if the Luna Diviner's expression were anything to go by, there would be no such pardons this time around. Now IX was hiding somewhere in the castle, waiting for Saix's mood to blow over.

It came as no surprise to the Organization to find Saix in such a foul mood; however, it would come as a shock if they found out that his frustration actually stemmed from a human girl. It was silly actually, how a stupid girl like Runa clung continually to his thoughts. 'As if she wasn't already a nuisance enough,' Saix sighed, attempting to calm himself down before he went on a rampage. Perhaps it would be wise if he went to another world to cool his anger. Yes, that was it. There were always Heartless that needed exterminating. The Superior wouldn't miss him for the few moments that it took to take down a few hundred Heartless. And hopefully, by then, his temper would be under control once again.

It was strange for Saix to feel so infuriated when he was not under the influence of the moon. After all, he was known for having a cold, calculating personality. That is, until he turned Berserk. But that was beside the point. All that Saix wanted to do now was beat the hell out of something, and beat it now. Waving a gloved hand to open a corridor, Saix strode into the portal, not particularly caring where he was headed precisely.

As soon as he stepped out of the portal, he was greeted by a sudden rush of freezing wind. Pulling his hood over his head to protect his face, Saix gave an inaudible sigh as he continued to make his way through the Land of the Dragons. 'At least,' he thought, 'I'm far away from that Runa brat.'

Making his way up the mountain, Saix suddenly felt the ground shaking underneath him. As he noticed the cracks forming beneath his feet, the Nobody managed to jump away in time before a pair of giant jaws snapped in the space he had occupied moments before. Summoning Lunatic, Saix watched coolly as an enormous Heartless began to emerge from the ground and take to the sky. Ignoring his mind's warnings about battling the Heartless called the Storm Rider, Saix simply tossed his claymore from hand to hand.

"Well," he smirked, "hopefully you will prove yourself to be a challenge." And with that, the Nobody charged.


A/N: Yeah, I know that this is a little shorter than usual, but it's necessary for this chapter. I promise that I'll go back to the normal length for the next chapter! But if I could make a small request? I need to know how well I'm doing thus far in the story. Could I get a few reviews? You don't have to if you don't want to, but I would just like to know where I stand. Thanks, and until next time!